Editing Draft evasion (section)

===Finland===
During World War II, there was no legal way to avoid the draft, and failure to obey was treated as insubordination or [[desertion]], punished by execution or jail. Draft evaders were forced to escape to the forests and live there as outlaws, in a practice that was facetiously called serving in the ''käpykaarti'' (Pine Cone Guard) or ''metsäkaarti'' (Forest Guard).<ref name="Tasala2000">Tasala, Markku (2000)  ''Metsäkaarti: Kolarin metsäkaartin jatkosota ja rauha''. Oulu, Finland: Pohjoinen. {{ISBN|978-951-749-341-3}}.</ref>

Approximately 1,500 men failed to show up for the draft at the start of the [[Continuation War]] (1941–1944, pitting Finland against the Soviet Union), and 32,186 cases of desertion were handled by the courts.<ref name="Kulomaa1995">Kulomaa, Jukka (1995). ''Käpykaartiin? 1941–1944: sotilaskarkuruus Suomen armeijassa jatkosodan aikana''. Helsinki: Painatuskeskus. {{ISBN|978-951-37-1754-4}}.</ref> There were numerous reasons for draft evasion and desertion during this period: fear or war-weariness,<ref name="Kulomaa2008">Kulomaa, Jukka; Nieminen, Jarmo, toim. (2008). ''Teloitettu totuus: kesä 1944''. Helsinki: Ajatus kirjat.  {{ISBN|978-951-20-7772-4}}.</ref> objection to the war as an offensive war,<ref name="Tasala2000" /> ideological objections or outright support for Communism.<ref name="Kulomaa2008" /> Finnish Communists were considered dangerous and could not serve, and were subject to "protective custody" – in practice, detention in a prison for the course of the war – because earlier attempts to conscript them had ended in disaster: one battalion called ''Pärmin pataljoona'' assembled from detained Communists suffered a large-scale defection to the Soviet side.

The ''käpykaarti'' (forest-dwelling Pine Cone Guard, mentioned above) was a diverse group including draft evaders, deserters, Communists, and Soviet [[desant]]s (military skydivers).<ref name="Rislakki1986" /> They lived in small groups, sometimes even in military-style dugouts constructed from logs,<ref name="Tasala2000" /><ref name="Rislakki1986">Rislakki, Jukka (1986). ''Maan alla: Vakoilua, vastarintaa ja urkintaa Suomessa 1941–1944''. Helsinki: Love Kirjat. {{ISBN|978-951-835-099-9 }}.</ref> and often maintained a rotation to guard their camps. They received support from sympathizers who could buy from the black market; failing that, they stole provisions to feed themselves.<ref name="yle2015">"[https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2015/10/11/muisti-metsakaartilaiset Muisti: Metsäkaartilaiset. TV1 torstaina 20.4.2017 ]" (11 October 2015). Finnish-language website. Retrieved 10 February 2018.</ref> The Finnish Army and police actively searched for them, and if discovered, a firefight often ensued.<ref name="yle2013AK">"[https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-6487122 Hitleriä vastaan sodittiin Suomessa hajanaisesti. Ajankohtainen Kakkonen]" (13 February 2013). Finnish-language website. Retrieved 10 February 2018.</ref> The [[Communist Party of Finland|Finnish Communist Party]] was able to operate among draft evaders.<ref name="Rislakki1986" /><ref>Selin, Sakari (2011). ''[http://www.ksl.fi/files/muisti/sakari10.htm Kun valtiopetos oli isänmaallinen teko] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220141328/http://www.ksl.fi/files/muisti/sakari10.htm |date=2007-12-20 }}''. Työväen historian ja perinteen tutkimuksen seura, Helsinki 2011, 357 s. Finnish-language website.  Retrieved 10 February 2018.</ref> Sixty-three death sentences were handed out to deserters; however, many of them were killed in military or police raids on their camps. Deserters captured near front lines would often be simply returned to the lines, but as the military situation deteriorated towards the end of the war, punishments were harsher: 61 of the death sentences given were in 1944, mostly in June and July during the [[Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive|Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive]], where Finnish forces were forced to retreat.<ref name="Julkunen1982">Julkunen, Martti. "Taistelutahto ristipaineissa". In Vehviläinen, Olli, ed. (1982).  ''Jatkosodan kujanjuoksu''. Porvoo, Finland: WSOY. {{ISBN|978-951-0-11164-2}}.</ref>

At the conclusion of the war, the [[Allied Commission|Allied Control Commission]] immediately demanded an amnesty for draft evaders, and they were not further punished.<ref name="yle2015" />

As of 2020, deliberate draft evasion is a rare phenomenon, since absence from a drafting event, in most cases, leads to an immediate search warrant. Evaders are taken by police officers to the draft board, or to the regional military office.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/a/2015081720190379| title = Kutsunnat alkavat tänään - näin käy, jos ei ilmesty paikalle}}</ref>